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14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?The 100 most repeated chord transitions extracted from thousands of songs. Even the first 10 will transform your guitar practice routine.

Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsEm, C, G, D, Am, E7, F#m, A
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

Before you play, tune your guitar and use the tools below to set up your view and flow.

YouEmaremyCfireGtheEmone Cdesire.G
EmBelievewhenCIGsay,EmIwantitDthatGway.
ButEmweareCtwoGworldsEmapart,can’tCreachGtoyourEmheart.
WhenCyouGsay,thatEmIwantitDthatGway.
TellmeCwhy,ain’tnothin’butaDheartache.
TellmeCwhy,ain’tnothin’butaDmistake.
TellmeCwhy,IneverwannaDhearyouGsay.
EmIwantitDthatGway…
AmEmIyourCfire,yourEmoneCdesire.
YesIEmknowit’sCtooGlate,butEmIwantitDthatGway.
TellmeCwhy,ain’tnothin’butaDheartache.
TellmeCwhy,ain’tnothin’butaDmistake.
TellmeCwhy,IneverwannaDhearyouGsay.
EmIwantitDthatGway…
EmNowIcanseethatwe’reGfallingapart.
FromtheCwaythatitusedtoAmbe,Dyeah.
NoEmmatterthedistance,IGwantyoutoknow.
ThatCdeepdowninsideofDme…
YouCaremyDfireEmtheCone Ddesire.Em
YouCare,youare,youDare,youGareEm(IwantDit…)
DDon’twannahearyou(say)
DAin’tnothin’butaE7heartache
DAin’tnothin’butaE7mistake
DIneverwannaE7hearyouAsay
F#mIwantitE7thatAway
TellmeDwhy,ain’tnothin’butaE7heartache.
TellmeDwhy,ain’tnothin’butaE7mistake.
TellmeDwhy,IneverwannaE7hearyouAsay.
F#mIwantitE7thatAway,tellmeDwhy.
Ain’tnothin’butaE7heartache.
DAin’tnothin’butaE7mistake.
TellmeDwhy,IneverwannaE7hearyouAsay.
F#mIwantitE7thatAway.
Cause,F#mIwantitE7thatAway.
SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookDiscover the most-used three-chord combinations in songs and build real command on guitar.
14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?Master guitar today with the most repeated high-impact chord transitions.
ArtistBackstreet Boys
AlbumMillennium
GenresPop
Year1999
KeyEm
DifficultyIntermediate

How to play I Want It That Way on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way on guitar requires 8 chords and 14 core chord transitions. You can find the full step-by-step guide below. Before you start, tune your instrument. The song uses the ↓-↓↑-↑↓↑ pattern; practice it muted first, or simplify to downstrokes while you learn the changes.

I Want It That Way uses these transitions most often: Em → C (15), G → Em (15), and C → D (10). These transitions may feel a little challenging at first, but with steady practice you can play this song quickly.When you are ready, begin with Em - C chord transition.

1. Em → C chord transition

Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram
Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram

Switching from Em to C:

  1. Lift your middle finger from A string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 2.
  2. Slide your ring finger from D string fret 2 to A string fret 3.
  3. Place index finger on B string fret 1.

This transition appears in the verse, played 15 times.

Em to C

2. C → G chord transition

Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram

Switching from C to G:

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 9 times.

C to G

3. G → Em chord transition

Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram
Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram

Here's how to move from G to Em:

  1. While playing G, lift your index finger from A string fret 2.
  2. Lift your middle finger from E string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger from E string fret 3 to D string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 15 times.

G to Em

4. Em → D chord transition

Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram
Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram

Here's how to move from Em to D:

  1. Lift your middle finger from A string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 2.
  2. Slide your ring finger from D string fret 2 to B string fret 3.
  3. Place index finger on G string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

Em to D

5. D → G chord transition

Here's how to move from D to G:

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 8 times.

6. C → D chord transition

Switching from C to D:

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on G string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to E string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on B string fret 3.

This transition appears in the chorus, played 10 times.

7. C → Am chord transition

To move from C to Am:

  1. Keep index finger on B string fret 1.
  2. Keep middle finger on D string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on G string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse.

8. Am → D chord transition

Switching from Am to D:

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on G string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to E string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse.

9. D → E7 chord transition

Here's how to move from D to E7:

  1. While playing D, lift your ring finger from B string fret 3.
  2. Slide your index finger on G string from fret 2 to fret 1.
  3. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 2 to A string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 9 times.

10. E7 → F#m chord transition

Switching from E7 to F#m:

  1. While playing E7, lift your middle finger from A string fret 2.
  2. Lift your index finger from G string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 2.
  3. Place ring finger on A string fret 4.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 4.

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

11. F#m → D chord transition

Here's how to move from F#m to D:

  1. While playing F#m, lift your pinky from D string fret 4.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger from A string fret 4 to B string fret 3.
  4. Place middle finger on E string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

12. E7 → A chord transition

Here's how to move from E7 to A:

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 1 and place it on D string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from A string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
  3. Place ring finger on B string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 7 times.

13. A → F#m chord transition

Here's how to move from A to F#m:

  1. While playing A, lift your middle finger from G string fret 2.
  2. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger from B string fret 2 to A string fret 4.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 4.

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

14. A → D chord transition

Here's how to move from A to D:

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to E string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger on B string from fret 2 to fret 3.

This transition appears in the chorus, played 2 times.

I Want It That Way chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in I Want It That Way.

  • I Want It That Way includes 117 chord transitions, 14 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.03% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • I Want It That Way contains 6 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how I Want It That Way connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After D, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (29%), A (17%), and Em (17%).
    • D → G: 29%
    • D → Em: 17%
    After Em, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (26%), G (18%), and D (18%).
    • Em → C: 26%
    • Em → G: 18%
SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookThe 200 most popular three-chord chains from real songs. See which songs use each chain and expand your repertoire with patterns that actually matter.